Tonge Cemetery⎜Fred Dibnah ⎜The Famous North West Steeplejack ⎜

Tonge Cemetery first opened December 31st 1856 and was the first municipal cemetery of bolton, originally known as Bolton Cemetery.
The cemetery itself covers 7.91 acres with newer graves situated to the left of the entrance and older graves to the right. the right side of the cemetery is non-conformist, the left and centre Church of England and the rear Roman Catholic. Originally the site had three chapels one to the left, right and rear of the plot. However, over time they were demolished with only the Church of England one remaining, this one however is blocked off due to it being in disrepair.
The cemetery has a few notable people buried here.
Thomas McCarte was a famous lion tamer, died in 1872. He was a one armed lion tamer travelling with Manders Menagerie when the lions he was taming attacked him and he died. he had already lost one arm through lion taming January of that year. Around 500 people witnessed his death. In the link below is the full article on his death which was publish in the Bolton Evening News and the NY Times.
Fred Dibnah the famous steeplejack and later TV presenter. He grew up in Bolton and after serving in the British army he returned to Bolton to be a steeplejack. It was during this that he was asked to repair Bolton's parish church which resulted in a boost in publicity. In 1978, while he was making repairs to Bolton Town Hall, Fred was filmed by a regional BBC news crew. The BBC then commissioned a documentary, which followed him as he worked on chimneys, interacted with his family and talked about his favourite hobby steam.
As a commemorative token a bronze statue was built and placed in Bolton town centre with a steam engine preserved in glass placed behind it.
Music by:
pixabay.com/us...
Sources:
www.findagrave...
www.bolton.gov...
www.woodlandtr...
www.mbaird.mlfh...
anglo-celtic-c...
paperspast.nat...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.freddibnah...

[@anthonyharrison3343]

I paid my respects to Fred, back in 2018 when we had that hot summer. It was a beautiful day in June. Glad to see the cap and spanner still there!

[@rocksteel44]

...AUSGEZEICHNET!!!!

[@johnathanryan2117]

Theres a film in the documentary on Fred from the late 70s and early 80s where he stands in the cemetery, not far from where hes buried , talking about life and death. Its effectively at the back of his house. Theres also a fella in the old part, the bit that floods quite often towards the river and near the nuns plot,called Julius Ceasar. Lucky to have it on my doorstep.

[@Graveyard_explorers]

Don’t think I’ve ever seen that documentary, but he was always a lover of where he grew up so no surprise he’s buried so close to home.

[@johnathanryan2117]

@@Graveyard_explorers think its called " A Year With Fred" or summat similair , it on KZbin, worth a watch

[@jacquelinesmedley7853]

Thanks for the video. I often wonder what will eventually happen to all these late 1800s grave yards and cemetery's of peoples long forgotten ancestors who are left to disappear in the weeds, grass and brambles, It seems no one wants the responsibility of ownership and upkeep of these neglected places, by using excuse's to turn them into nature sites, bee and butterfly gardens and avoiding the question of how long can it go on.

[@Graveyard_explorers]

Same, we try where we can to clear up some of the weeds and waste on graves but when it’s this big and out of control it’s hard to do. You can easy allow nature to take over a cemetery without it being so overgrown.

[@paddywuk]

Plenty of criminals that can be doing voluntary work on these places,( disgraceful council)

[@Graveyard_explorers]

Not every council sends out community services to churches as they’re deemed of lesser importance that other infrastructure in those areas

[@lakefromeshippingcompany]

The grass in some areas needs some attention but I've been to cemeteries in far worse condition than that. 🪦

[@Graveyard_explorers]

The older side was strangely unkept but like you say some cemeteries in much worse a condition than this one